Residents living in a north housing estate say they are at their wits’ end with overflowing bins.
Claiming people are even coming into the estate to dump rubbish in their communal bins, residents in Soroba in Oban say three-weekly bin collections are not working – and they want the council to think again.
People in the area claim part of the problem is that people from other areas of the town, whose bins are also overflowing, simply drive up to the estate and empty their rubbish into the bin.
Former community councillor George Berry claims that some of the rubbish being brought into the estate is from homes and businesses from elsewhere.
Mr Berry said: “I have watched people drive up here, open up the bins, throw it in and drive away again.
“I have even seen people put commercial waste in the bins.
“The bins are overflowing, and have been for years now – no one is listening. This is a problem that is not going to go away.
“My neighbour has started taking pictures of the rats that are around the bins. We are very worried as the bins are right next to our play park, and children could be playing in the grass and getting rat urine on their hand, with all the diseases that could cause.”
A spokeswoman for Soroba Residents Association said the problem in the area was getting worse: “Gulls were having a field day ripping open bags of rubbish, left on the pavement, and filling our pavements and roads with unsanitary waste.
“The council have to be approached on how to rectify this awful situation, but residents have also to take responsibility for using the bins appropriately.
An Argyll and Bute spokesperson said: “We have increased the number of recycling and general waste bins in Soroba.
“If people were to make full use of what is available and support our recycling efforts, as so many of our residents do, there would be enough capacity.
“Our teams work hard to keep our communities free of waste, but everyone needs to play a part. Like all councils, we have had to change the way we do things because of financial challenges.
“We need to cut the amount of waste that goes to landfill because it costs over £70 in tax for every tonne. We also have Scottish Government targets to meet for our recycling rates.”
